Video More video CNN's Gerri Willis has the top five tips on what to do if you find mold in your home and how to protect against it. (October 20) Play video

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Once the flood waters recede, mold spores take hold. In fact, even just a small amount of moisture could be endangering the heath of your family.

In today's top 5 tips, we're going to tell you what you can do to combat and protect your home from mold.

A mold problem can usually be seen or smelled. If you have sustained any kind of water damage, there's a good chance you have mold.

Your first sign of mold is obvious. You can see it growing on the walls or ceilings. Mold growth may often appear as slightly furry, discolored, or slimy patches that increase in size as they grow.

However, mold can also grow behind walls. Check for discolored walls. This is when you have to use your nose to sniff out anything that has a musty odor.

Mold is a strong allergen as well. If you find that you're having allergic symptoms like a runny nose, rashes, irritated eyes or respiratory problems, it's a red flag that you may be exposed to mold.

Forget all those mold testing kits. Testing for mold is expensive. You'll have to get a sample of the mold to send to a lab that will analyze the results. And lab analysis can cost $40 to $50. And there are no standards for acceptable levels of mold in the indoor environment.

"It's not going to give you useful information," says Jeffrey May, author of "The Mold Survival Guide."

Whatever kind of mold it is, the process for removing it is the same. The cost of testing may be better spent hiring a professional investigator or fixing the problem.

A professional air assessment can cost you from $400 to take samples to tens of thousands of dollars to remove the mold.

Save your money. If the moldy area is less than 10 square feet, you can basically handle the cleanup yourself. You can remove mold growth from hard surfaces with soap and water, or a bleach solution of 1 cup bleach in a gallon of water. You use a stiff brush on rough surface materials such as concrete.

Of course, you'll want to dress properly. Avoid breathing in mold spores. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends investing in an N-95 respirator that costs less than $25 at a local hardware store. You should also wear gloves so your skin doesn't come into direct contact with mold. Keep in mind if mold is recurring, or the area is larger than 10 square feet, you should call a professional.

Central air conditioning is an enormous source of mold problems, says May. Over time, systems get moldy.

Replace your filtration system. You can get a filter for about $10 to $12 at your local home improvement store. You should not be able to see through the filter when you hold it to the light. May suggests you invest in pleated media filters. You want to get a filter that has a grade of at least 6 on the rating system known as MERV. This stands for minimum efficiency reporting value. Stay away from fiberglass filters, advises May.

If you have a portable air conditioner, be sure you take the filter out and make sure the coil is shiny, and not covered with dirt. If your filter isn't penny bright, think about getting replacement filter material at your local hardware store.

To prevent mold, you should stop all water leaks first. Repair leaking roofs and plumbing fixtures.

In damp areas, like your shower, you may just want to increase ventilation by opening a window or putting a small fan in the room. And it's probably not a good idea to have carpets in your bathroom.

For the rest of the house, keep humidity below 60 percent, says the Environmental Protection Agency. Use an air conditioner or dehumidifier during humid months. To prevent mold, clean hard surfaces with water and detergent and dry completely.

Gerri Willis is a personal finance editor for CNN Business News and the host for Open House. E-mail comments to 5tips@cnn.com.